Illinois may soon ban smoking in beer gardens, outdoor seating areas

PEORIA — Some of the last public places smokers can legally light up will become smoke free under new rules proposed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Puffing would be explicitly banned in beer gardens, patios and other outdoor seating areas in the next six to nine months if the new regulations are adopted, according to a description of the rules published last week in the Illinois Register.

“This rule making focuses specifically on clarification that smoking is prohibited in a restaurant, bar and any area where food, beverages, or both, are prepared or served by employees, including outdoor areas such as patios, beer gardens, decks, or rooftops or concession areas,” a description of the changes stated.

The clarification contradicts previous legislative efforts to establish outdoor places as acceptable smoking areas that were undertaken after a failed bid to cite smokers and bar owners in Peoria for lighting up in outdoor areas of restaurants.

State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, crafted legislation in 2012 that would have protected beer gardens and patios as areas where smoking was allowed. Rather than calling that legislation for a vote, the Beer Garden Task Force, a subcommittee of the Illinois Senate Labor Committee, asked the Department of Public Health to clarify its stance on outdoor areas. That didn’t happen, and Koehler ultimately reintroduced the legislation in 2013, though it again did not make it to a vote.

An enforcement detail conducted by Peoria police using a grant from the Peoria City/County Health Department thrust the issue into the spotlight around St. Patrick’s Day 2012.

Patrons and employees at 10 establishments in the city were ticketed either for smoking in a public place or failing to prevent smoking. Among those receiving citations were patrons in the outdoor beer garden at Kouri’s Pub on Sterling Avenue.

Owner Dan Kouri said he sought counsel from the Illinois Department of Public Health before constructing the beer garden to determine whether patrons could legally smoke in the covered but permeable portion of the facility and was told in writing that smoking there would be allowable. The Health Department later said it had no record of the letter with Kouri’s claims.

Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady declined to prosecute the beer garden smoking tickets because of the law’s ambiguity and worked with Koehler to clarify the smoking ban.

Kouri said he’s not surprised the beer garden issue has come back to the forefront.

“I figured it was coming, as far as not smoking in the beer gardens,” he said.

If the rule passes, he said he’ll follow the law without reservation and may gain some new customers. But without the uniformity of a law applied to every bar with a beer garden, he can’t take the risk of losing paying customers who want to smoke in one of the few public places where it’s still allowed.

Page 2 of 2 - “Would you take a chance on losing 20 percent of your income?” Kouri asked. “I can’t take that chance.”

The Division of Legal Services at the Illinois Department of Public Health is accepting public comments on the proposed rule change through the end of September.

Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.